Spot Phishing & Stay Secure Online

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Have you ever seen an email with a subject line or offer that seemed too good to be true? Even if the email seems legitimate, did the URL change when you clicked on the link? These are a few of the signs that hackers may be after your information using a tactic called “phishing.”

We want to make sure that your finances and information stay right where they belong: with you. Here are some common types of hacker tricks, and ways to protect yourself from them online.

What is Phishing?

Phishing is a type of hack that using any communication designed to trick you into entering sensitive information, including usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and other personal information. Phishing usually occurs through email or instant message channels, often appearing as something legitimate. Messages usually contain a prompt or link that takes the user to a fake website and encourages them to enter sensitive information.

Phishing usually exploits weaknesses in website security, which allows those behind the scam to almost perfectly reproduce a website or webpage to trick information out of users.

Identifying Phishing Emails and Other Fraudulent Communications

Common phishing tactics involve social sites, auction sites, banks, and online payment processors as fronts for fraudulent online phishing. IT administrators, software security programs, or virus scans are other common masks for online phishing.

Phishing can take any number of forms online, and can sometimes look like trusted websites including your banking portal, or a real-looking request from a student loan provider.

Unlike legitimate communications, phishing messages are generally addressed to a generic party (Dear Sir or Madam), while a legit communication would use your name or username. Make sure you double check that information in any emails you receive. If you suspect that a communication has been produced by a hacker, there likely won’t be any references to your account number, or details about your specific experiences with the provider.

Protect Yourself Online

As scammers’ tactics get more sophisticated, it can seem daunting to conduct your business online without falling into a trap. But here are a few steps you can take to be safer online:

Never click links in emails or instant messages. Instead, type your provider’s URL directly into your browser, or use a search engine to navigate to the payment portal, login page, etc.

Dime Community Bank will never contact you via unsolicited email to verify personal information previously given to us, including your account number, password, or Social Security number.

Use a browser with a phishing detection (like Chrome or Firefox) and make sure you have the latest updates for your browser. Pay attention to security information in your browser’s address bar. Secure sites always have a secure URL that shows up as “https://”, like ours:

Your protection is our highest priority at Dime. You should never have to worry about using our convenient online and mobile banking. Visit our Dime Security Center for more information on how we are always looking out for you.

Got questions? Speak to a Dime representative at 1-800-321-DIME (3463).